Have you ever wondered what the "Print Screen" button is used for? Well, if you need to take a snapshot of your computer screen just hit the "Print Screen" button and a graphic of the computer screen will be placed on the clipboard where you can then paste the image into a Word document or a PowerPoint Presentation.

And what does that Windows key on your keyboard do, anyway? Here are a couple of shortcuts you can use access frequently used Windows tools:

• WIN + E will bring up the Windows Explorer.

• WIN + F will bring up the Windows Find feature.

• WIN + M will minimize all currently opened Windows and show your desktop.

While you are on the desktop, you can arrange the icons on the desktop just by right-clicking on the desktop and choose arrange icons.

When you delete files they usually make a pit stop in your recycle bin. Periodically, you must go in and delete the files that you deleted. If you want to bypass the recycle bin just click SHIFT + Delete. The files will be deleted without going to the recycle bin.

E-mail Tips

Have you ever wanted to send an e-mail to more than one person but don’t want the primary recipient to see who else you’ve sent the message to? Just enter the additional e-mail addresses into the BCC field. The Blind Carbon Copy will send your message while hiding the e-mail addresses entered into this field.

Do you want an easier way to send attachments via e-mail? Find the file you want to send, and right-click it. One of the options you should find is "E-mail file." Choosing that option will open your default e-mail program and automatically attach the file. All you have to do is enter the e-mail address and click send.

Browser Tips

Ever wanted to search a website that didn’t have its own search feature? Try going to AltaVista.com and entering "Host:[domainname] search term" (for example, "host:brsglaw.com lien"). This will return results only from that website.

While you are looking through a website, you can use the Alt + arrow keys instead of using the back and forward buttons.

Other Tips

• Show the full path: open "My Computer," click the "Tools" menu/"Folder" options. Click the "View" tab and check "Display full path in title bar."

• Tired of looking for your Windows CD? Copy your CAB Files to your hard disk.

• "Create Shortcut to Desktop" for folder searches, then right-click to "Search."

• Empty the junk regularly: "Recycle Bin" – deleted e-mail; etc. If you don’t check your "Recycle Bin" and "Send" e-mail folders they can start to take up quite a bit of hard drive space.

• Ctrl + wheel in Internet Explorer to increase or decrease font size

• Scandisk, defrag & Windows Update regularly to keep your system operating at peak efficiency.

Don’t start the junk

1. Click the "Start" button and select "Run."

2. Next, type in "msconfig," then hit "OK."

3. The System Configuration Utility should run (not all computers have it installed; if yours does not, try www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml).

4. Click the "Startup" tab.

5. You’ll see a listing of all the stuff that starts itself when your computer does. Just uncheck the programs you don’t want to load, and leave the rest alone.

Of course, each version of Windows is a little different, and you may or may not be able to use all of these tips, but if you take the time and experiment a little, you will discover even more tips than are listed here.

If you want to find more resources try some of these sites.

• Lockergnome

• www.odintech.com/tips/

• Computer Basics and Beyond

• www.bytesandbugs.com/glossary.html